About

Looking at the tendencies of human development in the XXI century Europe, two largely contradictory trends can be distinguished: one the one hand, the processes of globalisation and integration have gradually advanced; one the other, there is a stronger propensity towards cultural differentiation, regionalization and identity preservation, especially at the regional level. Subsequently, the harmonisation of interethnic and national-ethnic relations as well as co-existence of different self-identifications have become of increasingly greater significance across the European spectrum. Particularly, ethno-national policies within the borderland territories have a strong impact on the relations between the neighbouring countries. It is especially relevant for Bukovyna.

Therefore, the project “Bukovyna as a Contact Zone” looks at:

the interactions of different cultural, identity and historical strands present in the historic region of Bukovyna – the Ukrainian-Romanian borderland region;

how these multifaceted, overlapping layers impact on the interpretations and perceptions over a given territory.

This interdisciplinary study is based on a sociological survey which addresses questions of self identification, collective memory, and images of the “other” at the level of the Romanian community in the Northern part of Bukovyna (Ukraine) and the Ukrainian community in Southern part of Bukovyna (Romania). Thus, the process of collecting data focuses on:

a joint research agenda undertaken in the historic region of Bukovyna, both in Ukraine and Romania;

the peculiarities of the historic region of Bukovyna from a multidisciplinary approach (historical, political, economic, legal, cultural and linguistic).